Black-on-white beatings leave more dead

Violent 'Knockout Game' becoming murderous trend

(Editor's note: Colin Flaherty has done more reporting than any other journalist on what appears to be a nationwide trend of skyrocketing black-on-white crime, violence and abuse. WND features these reports to counterbalance the virtual blackout by the rest of the media due to their concerns that reporting such incidents would be inflammatory or even racist. WND considers it racist not to report racial abuse solely because of the skin color of the perpetrators or victims.) Videos linked or embedded may contain foul language and violence.

Some people call it the "knockout game," local news affiliates in New York prefer to call it simply a teenage "prank," but whatever the term, Ralph Santiago is dead – one of three men who recently died or suffered permanent brain damage from what police say are unprovoked assaults.

Others, however, are saying it's not some random crime or occasional "prank," but part of a nationwide pattern of unprovoked racial violence.

Advertisement - story continues below

The rules of the "knockout game" are typically the same no matter where it happens: Start with a group of black people. Find a white person. Punch him in the face. Don't stop until the person is knocked out or your arms get tired … or the person is dead.

The teenage "prank" on Santiago took place Sept. 10, but the real damage was done in an identical attack 27 years ago. A group of black people stalked and beat Santiago near his Bronx home, leaving this father, gymnast and artist with brain damage, unable to do anything but wander the streets in a permanent fog.

Even so, sometimes the 46-year-old Santiago was a happy man, even a religious man. But when he was on the streets, he was a vulnerable man.

Advertisement - story continues below

That is what three black people from Jersey City who arrived in Hoboken via the light rail discovered that afternoon.

The local CBS affiliate provides a few details: "Santiago was followed by the three teens while walking on 3rd Street between Adams and Jefferson Streets in Hoboken on Sept. 10 when one of the juveniles threw a punch at Santiago's head in what detectives believe was a game of 'knockout.' Santiago then collapsed onto the fence, wedging his neck between two iron fence posts, where he died, the prosecutor said."

Ten days prior, Jesse Downs was heading to his home in the suburbs of Boston when he came upon a group of black people at 2 p.m. Downs had left work early to get a head start on the Labor Day weekend.

His girlfriend, Melissa Merrill, told the Eagle Tribune she just happened to be driving by when she saw Downs sitting on the curb, covered in blood.

Advertisement - story continues below

"He kept asking me, 'Why did they jump me?'" Merrill said of how Downs reacted immediately after the attack. "He still had his money and paycheck on him. They didn't touch it.

"They attacked him right in broad daylight, in the middle of the sidewalk," Merrill said. "They jumped him from behind and beat him in his head for no reason."

WHDH-TV in Boston reports the suspects were "hitting (the victim) in the face and head." And that one of the suspects "slammed him on his head on the pavement."

After three brain surgeries, Downs is still in the hospital, unresponsive. His survival is still in question. Two men have been charged with assault and witness intimidation.

Advertisement - story continues below

Similarly in Syracuse, Jim Gifford was beginning his Saturday the way he started every day: He walked to the local 7-11 for a newspaper, donuts, coffee and a can of soup. At 6:08 a.m., the 70-year old Gifford was confronted by "five or six men" in their twenties.

"Award winning columnist Sean Kirst" of the local paper reports: "Two of them began striking and kicking Gifford. The beating continued after he fell to the ground."

Kirst quotes the local police as saying it "is too early to describe it as an example of the 'knockout game,' a chilling national trend involving anonymous attacks."

Police arrested Romeo Williams for the crime and charged him with assault. Williams had a pending felony weapons charge outstanding.

According to Syracuse.com: "At a press conference before Williams' arraignment, Syracuse Police Chief Frank Fowler said Williams celebrated inside the convenience store after he knocked Gifford unconscious. He continued beating the unconscious man after the brief celebration, according to police."

The papers presents lots of details, save two: The assailants were black, and there's no news about what, if any, charges the others at the attack will face.

Kirst did remind his readers that a similar attack took place in Syracuse last spring. Curiously, he reported that two people were arrested, though as many as a dozen black people were present at that attack where a 51-year old man died.